Chapter 144: 8th Week Mentoring and Strategy Battle (6)

Chapter 144: 8th Week Mentoring and Strategy Battle (6)

After playing the game of throwing Seo Ye-in a few times and coming outside, Ahn Jeong-mi who had been waiting greeted us.

“Kim Ho-nim, young miss. You two worked hard.”

She was polite and businesslike as always, but there was an emotion in her eyes that could not be hidden.

A perfect game against an ogre.

Not even 1% damage was allowed.

Even though the ogre was weakened, this was an encouraging result in her eyes.

It could be considered the best record for a first-year student.

Of course, the scores were impressive but there was another reason why Ahn Jeong-mi was so moved.

“Your teamwork was truly outstanding.”

Seo Ye-in who had never even glanced at her partners before worked perfectly with me.

When I was charging the crystal, she quickly dealt with the goblins that were in the way and focused her attacks on the ogre’s legs to restrain it.

And when she was charging, she made full use of my support to evade the ogre’s attacks.

“Seems like there was a reason Kim Ho-nim recommended Feather Walk.”

The synergy between Feather Walk and Wind Force was particularly impressive. This allowed Seo Ye-in to be swiftly moved out of danger so that she could adjust her position for a better shot.

Seeing such unexpected efficiency must have made Ahn Jeong-mi who had diligently taught this Feather Walk even more satisfied.

In many ways, she must have thought it was a good decision to allow this temporary pairing between us.

For now, this much is enough.

There was another purpose for the temporary pairing with Seo Ye-in.

It was to address the lack of motivation in this lazy girl.

I spoke in a casual tone.

“But we still couldn’t finish off the ogre. Such a shame.”

“...”

Seo Ye-in stared at me intently.

She must have been curious.

If we had continued fighting after the critical hit with the shotgun at the last moment, would we have been able to bring it down?

Soon, Seo Ye-in gently tugged at my sleeve.

“Do it again.”

To elaborate on what was omitted in her words, she meant going back into the dungeon and taking on the ogre properly.

However, I slowly shook my head.

“Let’s call it a day for now.”

As unfortunate as it was, Seo Ye-in and I were only a temporary pair.

Since it was about time for Kwak Ji-cheol to come to his senses, I should continue practicing with him.

After all, my agreement with Dang Gyu-young was to just score points and come back.

“...”

The grip on my sleeve gradually weakened.

A half disappointed and half sulking emotion could be barely seen in her expressionless face.

I let out a bitter smile and said,

“Today isn’t the only day. You know this is also part of the midterm scope, right?”

“...”

“The ogre will appear again.”

“...!”

And when that happens, the ogre won’t disappear even after the crystal charges.

When Seo Ye-in was intrigued and looked at me, I suggested,

“Practice a lot in advance. Dodge a lot and hit a lot.”

The more she practices, the more proficient she will become at evading and that will make it easier to find the right timing to attack.

The more she gets used to hitting the weak spots, the faster we can deplete the ogre’s health.

Seo Ye-in nodded her head.

“Okay.”

The motivation that had been at rock bottom all along started to swell.

And Ahn Jeong-mi who had been watching us couldn’t hide her admiration.

She exchanged a look with me.

– So there was such a clever trick...!

– I told you I’d find a way.

– Thank you.

– Consider the debt repaid with this.

Thanks to Ahn Jung-mi’s performance art, I was able to skillfully finish the cookie-shaping challenge and this was my way of repaying her.

Moreover, if Seo Ye-in approached the mentoring with enthusiasm, that would be good for me too and I would be killing two birds with one stone.

The results of our training will be confirmed during the midterms.

Since we achieved perfect scores in the strategy battle, I easily surpassed the highest side quest achievement of 90%.

Side Quest: 8th Week Strategy Battle

▷Objective: Clear the strategy battle dungeon

▷Achievement: Average Health: 100/90%

▷Rewards will be enhanced.

[Please select your reward.]

▷Wind Cutter

▷Shooting Star

▷One Point Explosion

Wind Cutter was a wind attribute attack skill that slashed enemies with sharp gusts of wind.

One, keep moving out of the sanctuary’s range to reset the crystal charging and extend the time.

Two, use a skill with power far exceeding the first-year level, like Inferno Fist.

In other words, there was no other way to defeat it.

So, what I wanted to say was,

“Rather than focusing on something uncertain, wouldn’t it be better to first master the basics?”

Competing with Hong Yeon-hwa on who was stronger could come later.

That could be done after both had avoided well and charged their crystals.

Song Cheon-hye cleared her throat, perhaps feeling a little uncomfortable.

“Hmm, hmm. That’s true. Thanks for the advice.”

“Make sure to talk it out with Hong Yeon-hwa.”

“Will do. By the way, it must be tough for you too.”

Our eyes turned to one place at the same time.

To Kwak Ji-cheol, who had just managed to stand up.

Song Cheon-hye hadn’t yet fully grasped my skills, but she seemed to acknowledge that I was good at dodging and escaping.

Since I had easily defeated Jo Byeok, there shouldn’t be any major issues against the ogre either.

On the other hand, Kwak Ji-cheol was just a burden.

Moreover, with the rule of two crystals, even if one person was exceptionally good, it would be hard to succeed if the other couldn’t hold their own.

So in Song Cheon-hye’s view, it looked like I would suffer along with him.

This was also why Dang Gyu-young had said the pairing wasn’t balanced when she teamed us up.

I shrugged as if it didn’t matter.

“He’ll improve after taking some hits, right?”

“Aaaah—!”

Kwak Ji-cheol’s scream echoed.

The next moment, a club as big as a person’s body came crashing down at him at a terrifying speed.

Smash,

[Kwak Ji-cheol: – %]

[Crystal: 17%]

The second attempt also ended in a miserable failure.

Kwak Ji-cheol became unable to fight and was expelled from the dungeon, while Dang Gyu-young revealed herself by releasing her stealth.

“No improvement. I wonder if he’ll just keep getting knocked down.”

“He won’t be down forever.”

The other team members were exceptionally skilled, but even Kwak Ji-cheol had a score in the 600s.

In a place where future hero candidates gathered, having mid-level skills still meant he had basic competence.

So, it wouldn’t be long before he realized he couldn’t go on like this.

How many more hits he would take from the ogre until then was anyone’s guess.

Dang Gyu-young seemed to have a similar thought and she decided to observe for now.

Then she asked me,

“What about you now?”

“I’ll just finish what I was doing.”

Skill training.

In the first attempt, Kwak Ji-cheol was rendered unable to fight and I looked for a new pair, but since the side quest was cleared, that was no longer necessary.

Continuing like this would suffice.

I flung Kwak Ji-cheol’s crystal to the other side of the cave.

As the distance between the crystal and the sanctuary increased, the connection was cut off and the charge quickly diminished.

[Crystal: 11%]

[Crystal: 6%]

[Crystal: 1%]

Unless the crystal was retrieved and recharged, this strategy session would continue endlessly.

In other words, it meant I could play a never-ending game of tag with the ogre.

“Grr?”

The ogre was oblivious to its imminent future and just let out a dumbfounded cry as it stared at the direction the crystal flew.

When I pointed at that guy with Root, mana the size of a fist gathered around its waist and started gradually compressing into a smaller and smaller form.

The mass of mana compressed into a tiny sky-blue dot and then,

Boom!

It exploded right there.

“Grr...”

The ogre twisted its waist in apparent pain.

On closer inspection, a small wound was left near its waist.

A shell that Seo Ye-in had barely pierced with her magic bullets had been punctured with just one use of an F-rank spell.

Of course, in terms of sheer power, the one point explosion skill was far inferior to a gunslinger’s shot, but

It has armor-piercing ability.

“Grr...”

Thanks to inflicting this wound, the fact that I was the enemy seemed to be firmly imprinted in the ogre’s mind.

The creature charged at me while swinging its club wildly.

I leisurely stepped aside before pointing directly at it again.

Once again, mana gathered, compressed, and exploded.

Boom!